Poet's Corner: "Wasted Memorabilia"

*After reading a blog and report about the noose found hanging from a light fixture in a library & other incidents causing racial tensions at UCSD (University of California - San Diego), I decided to write the follow poem:

A noose wrapped around
The neck of light
Illuminated a message
Sung by southren phantoms
And western politicians.

The history was all there.
The noose, surrounded by
Wasted memorabillia --
In a room where termites
Could make their home --
Hung as limp as the
Body it was made to dangle

Like strange fruit on
Rotten trees,
Or holy fruit on forbidden trees;
Or like apples overripe
With promises of spring.

By A. Jarrell Hayes


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Prison Riot Breaks Out in Chino, California

By Alicia Cruz
Senior writer
Theblackurbantimes

At the State Prison for men in Chino, California, 40 inmates were injured after a riot and fire erupted within the prison. Four inmates had to be airlifted. Lt. Mark Hargrove, prison spokesman, said the inmates' injuries ranged from stab wounds to head trauma, but that the prison was under control this morning and no prison staff members were injured.

The rumble began around 8:30 p.m. in a medium-security wing of the prison with seven units, each unit housing about 200 inmates. Images taken from cameras at the prison showed flames coming from the building as a helicopter hovered overhead. At press time, authorities had no word on how the fire started. A similar riot occured in December 2006 at the prison.

Los Angeles Police Chief To Resign

Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, who instituted vast reforms of the city’s department during a seven-year tenure, is stepping down, the president of the City Council said Wednesday.
Councilman Eric Garcetti said Bratton disclosed his surprise decision Wednesday in a private meeting.
The department said Bratton planned a midday news conference with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Bratton was stepping down to head a private security firm, the Los Angeles Times reported on its Web site, quoting unnamed sources.
Bratton's decision comes just weeks after a judge released the department from eight years of oversight by the U.S. Department of Justice, which had alleged a long pattern of abuse.
Under Bratton, Los Angeles also has seen declining crime rates since 2003. Garcetti said the city's residents are safer than they've been in "half a lifetime."
Last month, after a federal judge lifted a consent decree between Los Angeles and the Justice Department, Bratton declared that his police force had become "a leader in creating positive change."
Bratton was picked to lead the Los Angeles department in 2002 after heading police forces in New York City and Boston.

Is Hierba (Marijuana) The Answer To Cali Budget Woes?

By Tom McNichol / San Francisco

Proponents of marijuana legalization have advanced plenty of arguments in support of their drug of choice: marijuana is less dangerous than legal substances like cigarettes and alcohol; pot has legitimate medical uses; the money spent prosecuting marijuana offenses would be better used for more pressing public concerns.

While 13 states permit the limited sale of marijuana for medical use, and polls show a steady increase in the number of Americans who favor legalization, federal law still bans the cultivation, sale or possession of marijuana. In fact, the feds still classify marijuana as a Schedule I drug, one that has no "currently accepted medical use" in the U.S.
Full Story

Ex-teacher gets 4 years for sex with 14-year-old girl

By ANDREW GALVIN
The Orange County Register
A former middle school teacher was sentenced today to four years in state prison for molesting a 14-year-old girl, one of his students, in local hotels and in his car, prosecutors said.
Daniel Axtell, 38, of Santa Ana pleaded guilty on Dec. 17 to six felony counts of lewd acts on a 14-year-old child, one felony count of sex with a minor and one felony count of first-degree burglary.
Axtell met the girl at Talbert Middle School in Huntington Beach. He befriended the victim by consoling her after her parents had an argument and she confided in him about personal problems, prosecutors said. He gained the trust of the girl's parents by acting as a mentor to their daughter, prosecutors said.
From April 1, 2005, to June 1, 2005, Axtell had a sexual relationship with the girl, prosecutors said. On multiple occasions, he took the girl to hotels where he had unlawful intercourse with her. In one hotel, the defendant wrote "Daniel + (victim's name)" and drew a heart around it in pen inside a closet door, prosecutors said. The victim came forward in 2007 to report the sexual assaults, prosecutors said.
Deputy District Attorney Nicole Nicholson said the victim, now 18, and her stepfather attended today's sentencing.
"He truly violated the trust of this girl," Nicholson said. "She confided in him. He took advantage of her. He groomed her and then violated her sexually. He violated his position of trust and authority."
The victim gave a tearful impact statement and explained that not only did Axtell violate her, he embarrassed her and made it necessary for her to change schools because all the other students knew about the sexual relationship.
The girl's high school experience was ruined because she was humiliated, lost friends, never attended dances or the prom, and would never look at relationships the same way again, according to statements from the girl and her parents, prosecutors said.

Protesters Disrupt Foreclosure; Auctioneer Sent To Hospital With Chest Pains

A large crowd of protesters disrupted several foreclosure auctions today on the Sacramento County Courthouse steps, winning temporary cancellation of one Sacramento foreclosure and sending an auctioneer to the hospital with chest pains.
Bidders on the homes, all declining to provide their names, called the ACORN protest the first major disruption of an established auction schedule that plays out every weekday at the courthouse following 37,000 foreclosures in the capital region since Jan. 2007.
About 75 statewide members of the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now, in the capital for a lobbying day on housing issues, delayed at least three auctioneers from selling foreclosed homes today.
"Many of the sales that are happening now are around houses that could be saved by the (loan modification and refinance) plans starting to be implemented," said Amy Schur, California director of ACORN.
The group organized the protest with bullhorns, whistles and chants of "Save Our Homes," to make its case for a moratorium on foreclosures until plans unveiled in March by the Obama administration have a chance to work.
Organizers called the Sacramento action the newest in a series of protests by its "Home Defenders" in the Bay Area and Southern California.
As the first auction was to begin at 9:30 a.m. on the Sacramento County Courthouse steps, Los Angeles ACORN member Kathleen Thompson-Boons asked an unidentified auctioneer with LPS Financial Services of Sacramento "to stop the auction."
When the auctioneer resumed seeking bids from nine potential bidders, Thompson-Boons asked again, prompting the auctioneer to say, "If you're not going to bid, then go away."
Seconds later, protesters surrounded the group, chanting, blowing whistles and creating a commotion that made it impossible to hear. The auctioneer, who had a pacemaker according to associates, began to collapse and was later taken to a local hospital.
The protest continued for about 90 minutes. ACORN members left after cheering a concession by LPS Financial Services to cancel a specific requested foreclosure auction for one Sacramento family. Minutes later, as the group left, the auctions resumed as scheduled.

Suspect in Chandra Levy Murder Case Has Been Officially Charged

By Alicia Cruz

Senior writer

theblackurbantimes
It's been almost eight years since federal intern and California native Chandra Levy disappeared touching off a massive investigation that led to the end of former U.S. Rep. Gary Condit of California political career. Police questioned the married politician, who had been romantically linked to Chandra Levy, but was never a suspect in her death or disappearence.

Nearly eight years after federal intern Chandra Levy's disappearance, the man accused of killing her was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder. In May 2001, Levy completed an internship with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons and was preparing to return home to California when she disappeared after leaving her Washington, D.C. apartment. A year later, her skelatal remians were found in Rock Creek Park in a remote area D.C. police never searched during the investigation. On May 22, 2002, the remains were determined to be that of Levy after dental records confirmed a match.

Last month, police released a detailed affidavit with an arrest warrant, listing a dozen witnesses who helped point investigators to suspect Ingmar Guandique. At least two of those witnesses claim Guandique told them he killed Levy. Guandique, 27, was expected to have his initial court appearance Thursday in District of Columbia Superior Court.

An arrest warrant issued last month accuses him of sexually assaulting and killing Levy. The illegal immigrant from El Salvador had been serving a 10-year sentence in California for an unrelated assault. He was brought to the D.C. police department late Wednesday in a dark Chevrolet sedan, and escorted into the building by three detectives. As Guandique walked into the building with head down, a reporter asked if he had anything to say, but he did not respond.
When he left the building over an hour later, questions asked by reporters, again, went unanswered. Sources say the suspect may have ties to the most feared gang in the United States, the MS-13 gang.
A tattoo on Guandique's neck referenced one of the gang's marks -- blue and white colors taken from the El Salvadoran flag.

(Left) The Face of one of the MS-13 Gang's Tattoos

The MS-13 gang has cliques in 15 states, several South American countries, Canada, Mexico and reportedly has 36,000 members. The MS-13 gang is on the verge of becoming the first gang outside of the Italian mafia to be categorized as an "organized crime" entity.

Police said Guandique was fingerprinted, photographed and booked before being returned to the D.C. jail. lawyers for Guandique said they're glad he's in D.C. "We are glad that Mr. Guandique is back in the jurisdiction and look forward to a formal appearance in court at which time the government's flawed investigation and lack of reliable evidence" said public defenders Santha Sonenberg and Maria Hawilo.

Stay tuned for updates on this story.

California Tax Man Says Stars Owe Big: 'Show Me The Money!'

By Alicia Cruz
Senior writer
theblackurbantimes.com
The state of California's could get some help with it's budget deficit if songbird Dionne Warwick would her $2.2 million in taxes and comedian Sinbad (David Adkins) pay his $2.5 million in back taxes.

According to the Franchise Tax Board, these two stars are among 250 others in Californians who owe big and have paid little to nothing.

If you're one of these 250 you can get your name off the "hit" list by paying up or agreeing to an installment plan. Board spokeswoman Brenda Vote told MSNBC that she "cannot discuss individual cases."
Warwick's spokesman, Kevin Sasaki, says the singer has been working with the board to pay her outstanding taxes. He did not know how much money had been repaid.
A spokeswoman for Sinbad declined to comment.

47 California Businesses on Tainted-Spice List

By Niesha Lofing
More than three dozen Asian restaurants and eight supermarkets in the Sacramento region are now listed as customers of a Bay Area company under state and federal scrutiny after its spice products were linked to an outbreak of salmonella.
The list was released late Monday night by the state Department of Public Health, the same day investigators expanded the recall of U.F. Union International Food Co.'s spice products to include some of the company's Uncle Chen line of pepper products.
The company voluntarily recalled its Lian How brand peppers and other spices Saturday after health officials "isolated Salmonella from an open container of Lian How White Pepper, which was found at a restaurant where some outbreak victims ate," according to a statement on the company's Web site.
So far the salmonella outbreak has sickened 42 people in four states. Thirty-three cases have been reported in California. Locally, five cases were reported in Sacramento County and one case was reported in El Dorado County. Full Story Here

Mother and Child Reunion in Woodland, California

By Bill Lindelof
The Yolo County District Attorney has announced that his office has reunited a mother with her 6-year-old son, whose father had refused to allow him return to Woodland, authorities said.
District Attorney Jeff Reisig said the child visited his father, Rene Vidales, in San Bernardino County last summer and did not return from that trip.
The boy's mother, Angela Vidales of Woodland, had telephone conversations with the boy during the past few months, but Rene Vidales refused to return the boy, district attorney's officials said.
Superior Court Referee David Reed on March 18 ordered that the mother be given sole physical custody of the boy. Reed signed a protective custody warrant for the return of the child.
"The reunification of mother and child was very rewarding," said Angela Smith, and enforcement officer with the Yolo County DA's office. Smith and investigator Virginia Stroski recovered the boy from a school in San Bernardino County.

Escondido woman accused of stealing $9.9M to finance lavish lifestyle

More charges for accused embezzler

By TERI FIGUEROA

A prosecutor on Friday tripled the number of criminal charges brought against an Escondido woman accused of siphoning $9.9 million from her employer over seven years to finance her gambling and shopping sprees.The extra charges don't mean Annette Yeomans could draw a longer prison sentence if convicted; she still faces about 40 years behind bars.Instead, the charges are a more accurate representation of Yeomans' alleged wrongdoing while she was the chief financial officer of Quality Woodworks in San Marcos, according to Deputy District Attorney Anna Winn."We feel that the new complaint is a better reflection of what actually happened in the case," Winn said. "The case is a work in progress."When Yeomans was arraigned two weeks ago, she faced 17 criminal charges associated with swiping money from the company. On Friday, Winn tripled the number of charges, bringing it to 51, but Winn also streamlined other charges in the process. The net result is that Yeomans may not face extra prison time if she is convicted.Yeomans pleaded not guilty Friday to the charges: one count of grand theft, one count of stealing more than $3.2 million, three counts of lying on her state income taxes, and 46 counts that she forged checks from her company's account.Yeomans' attorney could not be immediately reached for comment Friday afternoon.Winn said the defendant wrote 582 checks amounting to $8.7 million on a Quality Woodworks' bank account to cover personal credit card payments and cash advances between 2001 and 2007.On top of that, Winn said Yeomans used a company check card to cover about $1.3 million in personal expenses.She was caught after American Express alerted the company in early 2008.Winn said bank records date to 2001 so that is as far back as the investigation can go; it is unknown whether any thefts occurred prior to 2001.After uncovering the alleged fraud, the company sued Yeomans. Through that action, Winn said, company owners have recovered $350,000.Investigators have said Yeomans used the stolen money to finance a high-stakes gambling habit and that she has won and lost as much as $42 million in casinos over seven years.The woman is said to have amassed more than $1 million in designer clothes, converting a bedroom in her San Marcos home into a closet, complete with a crystal chandelier, granite island and plasma TV.
Court appoints public defense attorney to represent Annette Yeomans

Police Questioning Neighbor of Missing Child in California

72 hours have passed since 8-year-old Sandra Cantu went missing after a play date with friends. The video shows police searching trash dumpsters for evidence, but seeing cadaver dogs on the scene tells me they are indeed looking for Cantu's body.
Tracy Police also questioned a 59-year-old man, a neighbor, who allegedly admits to having kissed Cantu "to be nice."
There is another man that is a person of interest, but police are being very tight-lipped about that. The two names that have come up are Frank Wooler and Chris Sinclair.
If you have any information on Sandra Cantu please call the tip line at: 209-831-6847 800-8435678. Sandra Cantu is 8-years-old, 4 feet tall and weigh 45 pounds.
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Mother of Slain Marine Calling For Death Penalty

Mom of slain Marine Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak wants death penalty for his killers

BY NANCY DILLON and CORKY SIEMASZKO DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
The mother of murdered Brooklyn Marine Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak has made up her mind - she wants the four Marines accused of killing her son and daughter-in-law put to death. "They will get as much sympathy from me as they gave my son and my beautiful Quiana, which is none," an angry Henryka Pietrzak-Varga said Monday. "I will ask for the highest punishment possible, and that's the death penalty," she said. "For what they did, for what they took from us, let them pay with their lives."Pietrzak-Varga said she and Quiana's mom, Glenda Faye Williams-Jenkins, reached the same decision after wrestling with their consciences for weeks.
Henryka Piterzak-Varga {Picture above} shows a
picture of her slain son, and his wife.
"I had problems with this as a Catholic," said Pietrzak-Varga, who lives in Bensonhurst. "But death is death, murder is murder, and for this they deserve punishment."
Breaking down in tears, Pietrzak-Varga added, "They didn't give them a chance to say goodbye, to say a final 'I love you.'"
"They covered their mouths with tape, they silenced them forever," she said. "At first I thought that having to spend a lifetime in jail, having to think about what they did, would be punishment enough. But now I am convinced it isn't, and it can never be."
Pietrzak-Varga said Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak's mom also wants the death penalty, but reached by telephone, the grieving woman declined to say which way she was leaning.
"I don't want to answer that right now," she said, choking back a sob.
Quiana's uncle Kevin Williams made it clear in an e-mail where he stands.
"I want the death penalty for all four," he wrote.

Four Marines (above) are accused of killing Marine Sgt. Jan Pawel Piertzak and his wife, Quiana Jenkins-Pietrzak (clockwise from top left): Kesuan Sykes, Tyrone Miller, Kevin Cox and Emrys John

Spokesman: Officer in subway shooting has resigned

(CNN) -- The officer involved in a New Year's Day shooting that left a passenger dead in a crowded Oakland, California, subway station resigned Wednesday, a Bay Area Rapid Transit spokesman said. BART spokesman Linton Johnson said in a statement that the officer's attorney and his union representative submitted the resignation at a meeting Wednesday morning with BART police investigators. The officer was going to be at the meeting but did not show up, Johnson said.
The resignation was effective immediately.
Shortly before the funeral for the passenger, 22-year-old Oscar Grant, Johnson said the officer had received death threats.
View Video below - shows officer shoot Grant in back as another officer kneels on him

The BART officer fatally shot Grant in the back after he and some friends were pulled from a train car following a report of an altercation, according to a BART statement. On Tuesday, attorney John Burris filed a $25 million claim with BART in which he identified the officer as Johannes Mehserle. Several local media outlets had already identified the officer.
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